Quarterfinal matches continue Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by Saturday semifinals at 12:30 p.m., and the championship match at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: Single day is $9 for adults, $7 for children and senior citizens. Tournament passes are $15 for adults, $10 for children and senior citizens.

Storylines: 4A – Watch out, not only is Mead the most successful 4A program in state history with seven championships – six coming in a seven-year span (2003-07, 2009) – the Panthers are highly motivated to put last year’s debacle to rest. After being defeated by Puyallup in the consolation round in 2011, they saw their run of 12 consecutive seasons of earning a state place come to an end. Their only loss was a best-of-three defeat to Central Catholic at the Kent Classic. … Jackson, the 2010 state champion, started the season ranked No. 17 in the country. And they are still outstanding, led by outside hitter Emmy Allen, the sister of coach Ashley Allen. They have won nine matches in a row – with their last defeat a best-of-three loss (25-20, 29-27) against Mead at the Spokane Crossover. … Bellarmine Prep emerged from the Narrows 4A and West Central District unscathed, and poised to challenge the co-favorites behind outside hitter Courtney Schwan, the News Tribune’s two-time All-Area player of the year. … Defending 4A champion Olympia is the No. 6 seed out of the West Central District tournament.

3A – Mercer Island is tall and loaded with experience with 10 seniors. The Islanders upended Mount Si for the Sea-King District title. … Speaking of the Wildcats, they have arguably the best hitter in the tournament in junior Lyndsay Carr, who registered a school-record 37 kills in a district quarterfinal match against Eastside Catholic.

2A – Rarely will you see this – three reigning state champions all in the 16-school field of a state championship. West Valley of Yakima, the 3A champion, moves down – and has accomplished setter Julie Nathe (nearly 2,500 career assists) leading the way. And Colville, the 1A winner which has gone 99-3 in the past three seasons, moved up in the reclassification cycle. Also, defending 2A champion Burlington-Edison made it back. Yet when it is all said and done, the winner could be Tumwater, ranked No. 1. The Thunderbirds have been in the title match three times since 2007, winning it all in 2008.

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Reporter Todd Milles has been with The News Tribune since 1994, covering high schools, local colleges, auto racing, Washington State and golf. The Prep Blog serves as a forum to discuss significant high school sports happening in our community.

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